jaws were open in a snarl like a great red trap, and the fangs were
vicious, long and yellow and spiked. He hit the ground silently, and
his muscles bunched as they absorbed the shock and hurled the long lithe
body feet first at the unsuspecting pup. The baboon crashed into him,
taking him on the shoulder with all the weight of his ninety pounds.
Zulu went down and over, rolling on his back with a startled yelp, but
before he could find his feet or his wits, the baboon was after him.
Debra heard the pup cry, and started forward, surprised but not yet
alarmed.
As he lay on his back, Zulu's belly was unprotected, sparsely covered
with the silken black hair, the immature penis protruding pathetically,
and the baboon went onto him in a crouching leap, pinning him with
powerful furry legs as he bowed his head and buried the long yellow
fangs deep into the pup's belly.
Zulu screamed in dreadful agony, and Debra screamed in sympathy and ran
forward.
Akkers shot out a foot as she passed him and tripped her, sending her
sprawling on her hands and knees.
Leave it, lady, he warned her, still grinning. You'll get hurt if you
interfere. The baboon locked its long curved eye teeth into the tender
belly, and then hurled the pup away from it with all the fierce strength
of its four limbs. The thin wall of the stomach was ripped through, and
the purple ropes of the entrails came out, hanging festooned in the
baboon's jaws.
Again the disembowelled pup screamed, and Debra rolled blindly to her
feet.
David! she cried wildly. David, help me! David came out of the
building running; pausing in the doorway he took in the scene at a
glance and snatched up a pick handle from the pile by the door. He
jumped off the veranda, and in three quick strides he had reached the
pup.
The baboon saw him coming and released Zulu. With uncanny speed, he
whirled and leapt for the pole, racing upwards to perch on the roof of
the kennel, his jowls red with blood, as he shrieked and jabbered,
bouncing up and down with excitement and triumph.
David dropped the pick and gently lifted the crawling crippled black
body. He carried Zulu to the Land-Rover and ripped his bush jacket into
strips as he tried to bind up the torn belly, pushing the hanging
entrails back into the hole with his fist.
David, what is it? Debra pleaded with him, and as he worked he
explained it in a few terse Hebrew sentences.
Get in, he told her and she clambered into the passenger seat of the
Land-Rover. He laid the injured labrador in her lap, and ran around to
the driver's seat.
Akkers was back at the doorway of his shop, standing with his thumbs
hooked into his braces, and he was laughing. The false teeth clucked in
the open mouth as he laughed, rocking back and forth on his heels.
On its kennel the baboons shrieked and cavorted, sharing its master's
mirth.
